CPHS Football Preview: Sandites ride four-year win streak into 92nd Highway 97 Rivalry game - presented by YellowHouse Market & Boutique

Payton Scott ran for 352 yards and four touchdowns in a 31-16 victory at Sapulpa in 2017. (Photo: Morgan Miller).

Sand Springs football’s longest-running series will be renewed for the 89th-straight year this Friday when Class 6A-II No. 11 ranked Charles Page High School (2-6, 1-4) hosts No. 7 Sapulpa (6-2, 3-2) at 7:00 p.m.

The Sandites are riding a four-year win streak against their Highway 97 rivals. For many in the two towns, a win over their biggest competitors is valued every bit as much as a winning record or playoff appearance.

Memorial Stadium
600 North Adams Road
Sand Springs, OK 74063

This week’s game coverage is sponsored by YellowHouse Market & Boutique at 122 North Main Street. Be your own kind of beautiful at YellowHouse Market. You deserve to look and feel your best and be able to afford it regardless of your shape or size!

OSSAA 6A-II District 2 Standings
5-0 Bixby (74 district points)
4-1 Booker T. Washington (46)
3-2 Sapulpa (-9)
3-2 Muskogee (17)
2-3 Bartlesville (-19)
2-3 Shawnee (-33)
1-4 Sand Springs (-18)
0-5 Ponca City (-58)

Last Week

The Sandites suffered their first shutout in a year, and first-ever shutout at the hands of the Bixby Spartans. The district front-runners dominated the first half 28-0 before the Sandite defense held them to a single score in the second half.

Caden Pennington, who had only thrown three interceptions heading into the matchup, doubled that number in a turnover-plagued battle. He was 5-14-84-3 by air, with Colton Roberts catching three of those for 64 yards. Trey Wilkerson led the ground effort with thirteen carries for 64 yards, followed by Pennington with seventeen carries for 35 yards. Pennington actually grossed 71 yards, but was sacked four times for heavy losses.

Cameron Smith had his busiest night of the season with five punts for an average of 33 yards. Jacob Snodgrass averaged fourteen yards on his two kick returns. The Sand Springs secondary had a season-best seven pass breakups with one interception from Daren Hawkins. Jerret Haley recorded four tackles and three breakups, and Justis Myers recorded two tackles for loss including a five-yard sack. Joel Mackey blocked a 45-yard field goal attempt.

The Sandite defense was stellar in the second half, giving up only one score on six possessions and five scores on twelve possessions overall. They forced two punts and three turnovers on downs.

Sapulpa outpaced Shawnee 63-35 after an insane second half. The game tied at 21-21, 28-28, and 35-35 before the Chieftains finally pulled away. An onside kick and ensuing possession gave way to the final lead shortly before the end of the third. Sapulpa rattled off four unanswered touchdowns, including a pick six.

Eli Williams led the Chieftain offense with a 7-9-148 passing performance and 114 yards on the ground. Te’zohn Taft recorded 22 carries for 212 yards.

This Season

The Sandites have had a tough year with three come-from-behind losses. They have no problem scoring and no problem getting stops, but both sides of the ball have a hard time finishing. Their only wins are against winless teams, but they have been heavy competitors in the majority of their games. They led Muskogee to start the fourth quarter, led Bartlesville till the final five seconds, and lost to Shawnee in overtime. They could just as easily be 5-3, 4-1 right now.

Sapulpa is on their first winning season since 2013 after two-straight 1-9 years. Despite the records, Sapulpa isn’t too much better than Sand Springs and things could easily go either way. While Sand Springs scheduled two out-of-state powerhouses in their non-district schedule, Sapulpa took on three run-of-the-mill 5A teams. However, they pulled off solid wins against three teams the Sandites lost to.

Against mutual opponents the Sandites are 0-4 with an average score of 19 to 33, while the Chieftains are 3-1 scoring 44 and allowing 47.

No. 11 Sand Springs (2-6, 1-4)

28-41 vs. Mansfield Summit (4-2)
45-24 @ Putnam City (0-8)
13-49 @ Greenwood (6-1)
35-14 @ Ponca City (0-8)
20-23, OT @ Shawnee (2-6)
27-45 vs. Muskogee (5-3)
27-29 vs. Bartlesville (3-5)
0-35 vs. Bixby (7-1)

No. 7 Sapulpa (6-2, 3-2)

34-13 vs. Edison Prep (4-4)
27-7 vs. Claremore (5-3)
49-12 @ East Central (3-5)
3-20 vs. Booker T. Washington (5-3)
63-35 @ Shawnee (2-6)
49-48, OT vs. Muskogee (5-3)
63-58 @ Bartlesville (3-5)
0-45 vs. Bixby (7-1)

Average Sandite Box Score
Opponent 33 CPHS 24
First Downs: Opp 17, CPHS 16.
Fumbles/Lost: Opp 1/1, CPHS 2/1.
Penalties: Opp 9-86, CPHS 7-57.
Passing: Opp 11-18-154-0, CPHS 9-16-125-1.
Rushing: Opp 40-213, CPHS 40-224.
Offense: Opp 58-368, CPHS 56-349.

The Programs

Sand Springs is coming off a 5-6 season, led by twelfth year Head Coach Dustin Kinard with a 62-66 record. They are riding an all-time program best streak of six-straight seasons with playoff berths. They have been in Class 6A-II since its inception in 2014. The Sandites hold one gold ball, winning the 2A State title in 1966.

Sapulpa is coming off a 1-9 season, led by third-year Head Coach Robert Borgstadt (8-20). They are in their first winning season since 2013, which was also their last playoff appearance. They have been in Class 6A-II since its inception and have never won a gold ball.

The Series (Sapulpa 44-42-5)

The two teams first met in 1922 with a 36-0 Chieftain shutout. Shutouts were a recurring theme for many years, but it’s been more than a decade since the last. Sand Springs has shut out the Chieftains sixteen times, and has been shut out seventeen times. The last blanking came in 2003 when Sapulpa prevailed 40-0 against a winless Sandite team.

Sapulpa’s biggest victory came in 2002, also against an 0-10 Sandite team, at 60-19. That was also the only time either team has ever scored fifty or more points in the series. The biggest shootout came in 2009 when Sand Springs prevailed 49-45. The Sandites’ biggest win was 48-13 in 2008.

The Highway 97 Rivalry hasn’t gone into overtime since 2010, hasn’t ended in a tie since 1964, and has only seen one post-season meeting. Sapulpa won the last overtime game 21-14 and Sand Springs won the lone playoff game 42-14 in 1997.

Sapulpa Head Coach Robert Borgstadt was the Defensive Coordinator in Sand Springs from 2011 to 2015, helping the Sandites to a 32-24 record during that time, culminating in a State Finals appearance in his last year. He has yet to win a game against his former team.

Sapulpa Offensive Coordinator Ryan Nolan coached Wide Receivers at Sand Springs in 2014. Wide Receivers Coach Tim Beacham was the Head Coach at Sand Springs from 2002-2003 when the Sandites went 0-20.

The towns have so much rivalry they even launched an alumni game in 2014. Sapulpa won in 2014 and 2017. Sand Springs won in 2015 and 2016, and the game was cancelled in 2018 due to low registration. It is expected to move to a biennial format in 2019.

1922: Sapulpa 36-0.
1928: Sand Springs 14-13.
1930: Sapulpa 7-6.
1931: Sand Springs 34-6.
1932: Sapulpa 14-13.
1933: Sapulpa 7-0.
1934: Sapulpa 12-6.
1935: Tied 0-0.
1936: Sand Springs 13-0.
1937: Sand Springs 13-0.
1938: Sand Springs 6-0.
1939: Sapulpa 12-0.
1940: Sapulpa 26-7.
1941: Sand Springs 6-0.
1942: Sand Springs 19-7.
1943: Sand Springs 12-0.
1944: Sapulpa 8-0.
1945: Sapulpa 14-0.
1946: Sapulpa 7-0.
1947: Sand Springs 7-0.
1948: Sapulpa 19-12.
1949: Sapulpa 26-0.
1950: Sapulpa 46-7.
1951: Sapulpa 27-6.
1952: Sand Springs 20-0.
1953: Tied 6-6.
1954: Tied 14-14.
1955: Sapulpa 20-0.
1956: Sapulpa 27-6.
1957: Sapulpa 21-8.
1958: Sapulpa 12-6.
1959: Sand Springs 10-0.
1960: Sand Springs 19-14.
1961: Sapulpa 14-8.
1962: Tied 0-0.
1963: Sand Springs 26-0.
1964: Tied 6-6.
1965: Sand Springs 12-0.
1966: Sand Springs 21-7.
1967: Sapulpa 14-0.
1968: Sapulpa 34-0.
1969: Sand Springs 42-15.
1970: Sapulpa 30-7.
1971: Sapulpa 13-10.
1972: Sapulpa 7-0.
1973: Sapulpa 21-14.
1974: Sand Springs 17-7.
1975: Sapulpa 13-6.
1976: Sand Springs 13-12.
1977: Sand Springs 21-7.
1978: Sapulpa 34-7.
1979: Sapulpa 20-13.
1980: Sand Springs 18-0.
1981: Sand Springs 27-12.
1982: Sapulpa 10-0.
1983: Sapulpa 35-9.
1984: Sapulpa 8-3.
1985: Sand Springs 14-0.
1986: Sapulpa 12-7.
1987: Sand Springs 33-7.
1988: Sapulpa 27-20.
1989: Sapulpa 31-0.
1990: Sand Springs 28-14.
1991: Sand Springs 31-0.
1992: Sand Springs 21-14.
1993: Sand Springs 35-9.
1994: Sapulpa 28-20.
1995: Sand Springs 23-6.
1996: Sand Springs 24-21.
1997: Sand Springs 17-13.
1997: Sand Springs 42-14 (Playoffs).
1998: Sand Springs 18-0.
1999: Sapulpa 24-0.
2000: Sand Springs 35-14.
2001: Sapulpa 35-7.
2002: Sapulpa 60-19.
2003: Sapulpa 40-0.
2004: Sapulpa 37-8.
2005: Sapulpa 33-20.
2006: Sand Springs 24-17.
2007: Sand Springs 36-21.
2008: Sand Springs 48-13.
2009: Sand Springs 49-45.
2010: Sapulpa 21-14, OT.
2011: Sapulpa 28-21.
2012: Sand Springs 28-21.
2013: Sapulpa 49-32.
2014: Sand Springs 35-13.
2015: Sand Springs 44-10.
2016: Sand Springs 35-7.
2017: Sand Springs 31-16.

2018 Stat Leaders

Passing
70-130-956-6, 11TD Pennington
1-1-41-0 Foster

Receiving
17-283, 5TD Hawkins
20-224, 3TD Snodgrass
11-166, 1TD Foster
8-138, 1TD Roberts
2-70, 1TD Roe

Rushing
110-807, 7TD Mackey
99-449, 6TD Pennington
79-404, 4TD Wilkerson
14-74 McCallie
7-23 Jones

Kick Returns
11-159 Snodgrass
2-59 Mackey
2-38 McCallie
2-26 Jones
2-22 Roe

Kick-Avg
37-33 Weiser

Punt-Avg
2-39 Pennington
15-33 Smith
1-16 Weiser

PAT
21/24 Weiser

Field Goals
1-26 Weiser

Tackles
88 Cramer
39 Bratcher
33 Haley
29 Peterman
27 Adcock

For Loss
8-17 Cramer
7-13 Bratcher
5-9 Glass
5-9 Peterman
4-17 Myers

Sacks
2-11 Myers
1-5 Bratcher
1-3 Cramer
1-3 Peterman

Breakups
5 Adcock
4 Bratcher
4 Haley
2 Mackey

Interceptions
1 Dudley
1 Hawkins

Forced Fumbles
1 Bratcher
1 Cramer

Fumble Recoveries
2 Glass
1 Peterman
1 Rutledge

Blocked Kicks
2 Mackey